Tag Archives: rareware

What Was the Frantic Factory For?

Image from Flickr User: JD Hancock

The world of Donkey Kong 64 was an odd place wasn’t it? It had jungles, fungi forests, crystal caves, a haunted castle…and that’s not even all of them. Most of these regions found in DK Isles made some sort of sense, but what about the ones found on the mechanized K. Rool Island? The haunted castle and gloomy bay areas are weird enough, but it’s Frantic Factory that really stick out here. Really, what was up with that place? Continue reading What Was the Frantic Factory For?

The Duck Discusses the Wii, 360, and PS3 Generation: Part 2-360 Boxes

Image by Flickr User: ChipperMist
Image by Flickr User: ChipperMist

Not long ago, I published a post discussing what I like and dislike about the Wii, and seeing as the next console of this particular generation that I bought was the XBox 360, it makes sense for Microsoft’s console to be the subject of the second post in this series.  It’s a funny thing, though, how I got this console in the first place, because I am more of a PlayStation fan than an XBox fan, so it would stand to reason that I would have been much more inclined to purchase a console made by Sony over one made by Microsoft.  Unfortunately, at the time, the PS3 was much too expensive, and it didn’t have any games I really cared for yet that weren’t already on the 360 (this was obviously before I became a “Ratchet and Clank” fan…).  Since the games I wanted at that time were all on the 360, plus that console would also allow me to play any new “Halo” games, this became the next console I added to my gaming family.

And when I first started playing the 360, I was immediately impressed with the graphics, which were way ahead of the Wii, and even though the first two games I played were not as good as I was expecting (“Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts” and “Sonic the Hedgehog”, the 2006 version, shudder, gag, shiver), I did have a good time playing “Halo 3” (even though it was short) and “Final Fantasy XIII” (despite its flaws), the latter of which came with my console.  (I even got this little waste of time thing on one end of the console that says “Final Fantasy XIII” on it.  Jealous?)  Plus, I was just pretty thrilled that this new XBox had “Final Fantasy” games as part of its library now, as during the last generation, only the PS2 had such an honor.  My game collection was further improved with the addition of “Halo: Reach” and “Halo 4”, which were awesome, and I even had the pleasure of expanding my game library with over 40 Sega Genesis games on “Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection”.  In the end, I ended up really enjoying my 360, and I loved it way more than the original XBox.  And now, anymore of my thoughts on this console will be listed below.  (As usual, my main focus is on gaming, not the other features the 360 has to offer, and extra info was found on Wikipedia.) Continue reading The Duck Discusses the Wii, 360, and PS3 Generation: Part 2-360 Boxes

The Horrors of Banjo-Kazooie

Image by Flickr User: Justin Taylor

Banjo-Kazooie is a bright and sunny game, we all know that, we all accept that. However, upon closer inspection I’ve realized the game could (maybe should) have been terrifying to those of us who played it as young children. It’s all there, and out of the game’s sunny context, all so very creepy! Continue reading The Horrors of Banjo-Kazooie

Why Games Should Do Away With Extra Lives

Image by Flickr User: Yoshi Gizmo
Image by Flickr User: Yoshi Gizmo

I grew up playing video games that used extra lives.  The old “Mario” games had them and the old “Donkey Kong Country” series, too, and it was just a feature that you had to deal with.  As you played through such a game, level by level, it was always on your mind how many lives you had left.  And as you played, your main purpose being to complete the level, it was always a bit of a secondary objective to collect more of these extra lives.  I remember how very satisfying it was every time I collected enough bananas in “DKC” to acquire yet another balloon in the upper corner of the screen.  Each life meant extra chances.  It meant security.  One more time you could slipup and still be all right.  They were a good thing and one item I sought after most.

But, sometimes, extra lives were a hassle.  I remember every time I started playing a new file of “Donkey Kong Country 2”, I would just rack up tons of extra lives during my first hour of gameplay.  I collected so many darn extra lives, I was effectively unstoppable.  I could die as many times as I pleased, and it mattered not.  I’d go from world to world, and when no save point was yet available, it didn’t matter, because I had those extra lives.  And then, I’d stop playing for the day, and when I returned, the lives were always reset to a much smaller number, my hard work collecting lives the previous day all for naught. Continue reading Why Games Should Do Away With Extra Lives

Glitches That Involve Freezing and the Rage They Cause

Screenshot by Flickr User: Sklathill
Screenshot by Flickr User: Sklathill

Today’s post is the last of my little glitch series, until I experience enough new ones to write another post about them.  Won’t that be nice?  Ahem, this time I discuss freezing, quite possibly the worst glitch ever.  You can’t work through it.  It just happens, and there’s nothing you can do.  Nothing.  Games never un-freeze.  No, of course, not!  That would be too tolerable if they unfroze!  I hate games that freeze!

Lesser annoying freezing: “Donkey Kong Country 3” is my only glitchy Super Nintendo game.  It always gets slow in the lightning level, and one day, I accidentally touched the cartridge when the game was starting up.  This caused most of my files to be erased, which was quite upsetting.  But, the glitch I am getting to is when I once went into one of the bear’s houses, and the screen suddenly got distorted and froze.  Ever since, I’ve been terrified to go in the bear’s places ever again (not that it’s ever been not stressful to walk into a bear’s house)!  Fortunately, at least no more freezing has occurred, and it’s my least favorite “DKC” game anyway.  Aren’t you proud of the positive spin I put on this glitch?  Also, in “Harvest Moon 64”, walking over the bridge was an ordeal (and there weren’t even any bears), as the game would freeze occasionally when you did.  It was an evil bridge.  Evil. Continue reading Glitches That Involve Freezing and the Rage They Cause

Merry Listmas: My Gaming Wish List

It is now time for the Duck’s second Listmas list.  This one is kind of like my gaming Christmas list, listing all the gaming-related things I would like to see someday, whether they be things that can actually happen someday or are merely silly and impractical. Continue reading Merry Listmas: My Gaming Wish List

Merry Listmas: Things I Dislike About Games I Like

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the duck’s first Listmas list.  I enjoy lists, whether it’s keeping track of all my games (in order from best to worst, of course) and realizing that my collection might be getting a wee bit enormous or marking things off a list and knowing that I’m getting one step closer to a goal.  And so when I found out there was an actual little holiday where I got to list stuff, I then got to thinking about what I wanted to list (as was the logical next step in that sequence of events).  And I eventually came up with the idea to list the things I don’t like about games I like.  Here I go. Continue reading Merry Listmas: Things I Dislike About Games I Like